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Benazir Bhutto Attains Martyrdom Rawalpindi, Dec 27: An assassin’s bullet killed Benazir Bhutto on Thursday (December 27) in what the government described as a gun-and-bomb suicide attack immediately after the former prime minister had addressed an election rally of her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) at Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh.
The attack targeting Pakistan’s most prominent opposition leader, which also killed at least 21 other people and wounded about 60, dealt a new shock to a world already troubled by political terrorism and clouded the process of the general election set for Jan 8 and the country’s political future. Ms. Bhutto was driving out of the park after addressing to a big election rally when, according to witnesses and police officials, the attacker struck with gunfire and another bomber standing besides him. Witnesses said they first heard four or five gunshots as Ms. Bhutto appeared from the sun-roof of her white bullet-proof four-wheel drive Toyota Landcruiser to wave to her followers chanting “jiay Bhutto (long live Bhutto) outside the northern gate of the park, and then saw her disappearing into the vehicle before a big explosion damaged the jeep rear and turned the scene into a killing ground. Hardly anybody at the scene seemed to know at the time she had been hit by bullets and driven to the Rawalpindi General Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead at an operation theatre table.
Both security officials and PPP members said they had heard the gunshots but that Ms. Bhutto was safe as reporters witnessed ambulances lifting the dead and wounded from a blood-splattered portion of Liaquat Road outside the park gate that was reserved on the day for the entry and exit of the PPP leader and her close associates. Limbs of the victims were scattered in the area, including what was presumed to be the remnant of the head of the unidentified suicide bomber that looked like a lump of flesh when it was already turning dark. While many people told reporters they did not know who fired the shots, at least one PPP student wing leader, Ayaz Khan Pappu, said he saw a man wearing shalwar-kamiz firing four shots at Ms. Bhutto apparently from a 30-bore pistol before being blown up by the blast of what a police bomb disposal squad official called a 5kg device.
PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim, who was accompanying Ms. Bhutto in the vehicle along with her political secretary Naheed Khan, told a news conference later in Islamabad that he also heard four shots when the former prime minister was waving to the crowd from the vehicle’s sun-roof before slumping on her seat. He said she would have remained safe if she had not looked out of the sun-roof.
Ms. Bhutto was driven to hospital from Liaquat Bagh in her own Landcruiser though its tyres had burst because of the explosion, but was shifted mid-way to another vehicle, that of PPP information secretary Sherry Rehman. Pappu, the president of the Rawalpindi city chapter of the PPP’s student wing People’s Students Federation who himself was wounded by a splinter on his forehead, said that people outside Ms. Bhutto’s car did not know at the time she had been hit though some suspected “something” had happened and it was later at the hospital that he learnt the bullets hit her in the neck and a temple. The attack happened 70 days after Ms. Bhutto survived the first assassination attempt on Oct 18 when a bomb attack on a welcoming procession in Karachi on her return from more than eight years of self-exile abroad killed more than 150 people. It removed from the scene the last remaining bearer from her family of the political legacy of her father, former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who was executed, also in Rawalpindi, on April 5, 1979 by the then-military ruler Gen Mohammad Ziaul Haq following a controversial conspiracy-to-murder conviction. Her youngest brother Shahnawaz Bhutto was found mysteriously dead on July 18, 1985 while living in exile in a French Riviera apartment while his only other brother, Murtaza Bhutto, was killed in a mysterious shooting outside his home in Karachi on Sept 20, 1996. Ms. Bhutto’s mother, Nusrat, who led the PPP for some years after Gen Zia toppled Mr. Bhutto in a 1977 coup, has been very ill in recent years and has been living in Dubai with her daughter. Ms. Bhutto’s husband Asif Ali Zardari never seemed prepared for a leadership role despite being elected to parliament and being a minister in her cabinet during the last of her two short-lived tenures as prime minister, while younger sister, Sanam, has not engaged in politics. Shortly before the attack, the Liaquat Bagh gathering of tens of thousands repeatedly chanted “Prime Minister Benazir”, as an expression of the party intent to make her prime minister again despite a controversial decree enforced by President Pervez Musharraf to restrict prime ministerial tenures to only two. But that was not destined to happen, despite the PPP’s hopes that if elected to power in the Jan 8 elections, it would undo the decree that also hits former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Mr. Zardari and the couple’s three children two daughters and a son who have lived with their mother in Dubai since the beginning of her exile in 1999, arrived in Islamabad on same night and accompanied Ms. Bhutto’s body to Larkana for burial. The body was transported in C130 aero plane and landed at Sukkur airport. From there it was further shifted to Moenjo Daro Airport via Helicopter. Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Nawaz Sharif announced a boycott of the elections hours after the incident while the PPP announced a 40-day mourning during which it would be in no mood to contest the polls. President General (R) Pervez Musharraf in his brief address to nation expressed deep sorrow over the assassination of Ms. Bhutto and declared three day mourning, during which national flag flew on half-most Prime Minister Mr.. Muhammad Mian Soomro in his condolence message expressed his deep sorrow and grief over the killing of Ms. Benazir Bhutto and appealed to nation to remain calm and composed in this hour of shock.
Mob rule prevailed........ Hyderabad, Dec 28: Troops were called out in several Sindh districts due to escalating violence paralysing civic life on the second day. Ten persons were killed while two dozens injured on Friday in retaliation to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
Deaths took places one each in Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad, Badin, Matiari, Tando Allahyar and Khairpur while two each in Jacobabad and Thatta. Government properties, banks, private vehicles, filling stations, telephone exchanges, etc., remained prime target of miscreants in every district. Violence went unabated for more than 24 hours in almost every district of upper and lower Sindh, forcing police authorities to call in Army in the city. Arsonists don’t distinguish when it comes to burning government or private properties. The torching spree reduced to ashes number of trailers, oil tankers, trucks, buses and other vehicles in different pockets of the city and on highways. A young Bhutto lover committed suicide in Doctor’s colony Hyderabad on Friday evening while one PPP activist was killed and four others injured in Saeedabad taluka of Matiari district - the home town of PPP senior vice chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim during firing. Multinational chain of food restaurants (Pizza Hut, KFC and Mcdonalds) were reduced to ashes on Thandi Sarak. The bungalow of former Sindh chief minister Dr Arbab Ghulam, who according to his family member had gone on Umra late Thursday night, had been torched in G.M.B. Colony in Qasimabad. “Before Army’s arrival Rangers had demanded vehicles for mobilising their personnel”, said an official source. It was around 6 pm when army started patrolling in Hyderabad, Badin, Thatta, Dadu, Jamshoro following a formal request from top district police officials. Troops’ deployment was reported at some of the city’s roundabouts as well. They conducted flag march in Qasimabad, city and other troubled spots of the district. During the period Hyderabad witnessed no worst in indents of arson and vandalism. Shortage of food stocks, milk and other items of daily commodities has hit the citizens badly. Not a single shop was opened in any part. Those staying in different hotels and guest houses of the city faced food shortage. The by-pass and Super Highway remained worst affected areas until 4 am in the morning of Friday where thousands of passengers from Karachi were found stranded. District Nazim Hyderabad Kanwar Naveed Jamil, DPO Imran Shaukat and DCO Aftab Khatri came to their rescue and reached Hyderabad toll plaza. They made a convoy of vehicles to ensure safe entry of buses and vehicles. It was a sorry scene to see elderly women moving on foot on Highway with kids in cold weather. Police vehicles brought some to district headquarters to send them home. Bypass remained blocked with burnt vehicles and those abandoned by drivers. No less than 30 vehicles were burnt. Traffic flow was negligible on the Bypass as thick smoke billowed from smouldering vehicles. Lights were switched off in different parts. None of Hesco officials were present to attend complaints. Almost entire city, Latifabad, Qasimabad and rural taluka remained disturbed. Those stuck up left for their homes in the morning on foot. Qasimabad - one of the worst affected areas - witnessed an exchange of fire between unidentified armed youths and rangers personnel, resulting in injuries to four persons, who were removed to Civil Hospital by Edhi volunteers. They blamed Rangers for firing on them. Around eight banks have been burnt in Qasimabad Police Station area, alone. Reports indicated miscreants also looted bank lockers and ATM machines after torching them. It was around 12 am when Rangers personnel started patrolling the city in some areas. Until Friday morning there was hardly any artery of the city that didn’t have a site of smouldering vehicles and in some cases fleets of vehicles were found to be torched. These burnt vehicles included rickshaws, buses, Potohar jeeps, cars, pushcarts, Suzukis, owned by government departments or private persons. Miscreants burnt office of Taluka Nazim office of Tando Ghulam Hyder Municipal Administration of Tando Mohammad Khan while shops were burnt in Kotri city. Police authorities requested for Army deployment through PPO Sindh. The arsonists tried to set ablaze Sindh Express at Hyderabad railways station that was halted there for well hours 36 hours. They burned some stalls. “We did not find railway official to seek help”, said Mohammad Waris, who was staying at the station since Thursday night after reaching here from Lahore along with his family. A stall vendor Qadeer complained that he lost material of Rs0.3 million from his stall in vandalism. Activists of Mutahedda Qaumi Movement shifted women and children to nearby mosques and seminaries and arranged food for them. The condition of two PPP activists Ahmed Ali and Abdul Kareem Memon, who were injured in Tando Allahayr city on Thursday evening in firing by a bank guard remained critical in intensive care unit (ICU). One Ehsan Ali son of Asghar Ali, who was injured in road accident on Tando Allahyar city during stampede after Benazir Bhutto’s assassination news, succumbed to his injuries on Friday. Like rest of the government departments, the Civil Hospital Hyderabad was hit by shortage of doctors and paramedics. According to Ehsan Ali’s brother-in-law Shahnawaz also died due to it. Miscreants burnt sleepers of railway track near Hyderabad railway station. They also burnt vehicles in the parking area of director general health services Sindh. Office, computers and other records of Executive District Officer (EDO) education were set ablaze in Hirabad on Friday evening by outlaws. One Imam Bux Kaka son of Ilyas Kaka breathed his last in Civil Hospital while five others including Sher Ali Kaka, Waris Kori, Ishaq Kaka, Samiullah Jamali and Ejaz Khan were injured in Saeedabad taluka of Matiari district in firing allegedly by activist of PML-F Bachal Shah, said a PPP leader Ali Mohammad Shah from Matiari district. Several hundreds of passengers of different trains remained stranded at different railway junctions and railway stations. Around 1000 passengers of Karachi bound Awam Express remained stranded near Jalal Mari between Shahdadpur and Tando Adam railway station Funeral prayers of Benazir Bhutto in absentia were offered in Saddar and near Haji Shah Bukhari Dargah by PPP activists. Miscreants burnt over 40 vehicles that in an attack on Shalimar Gardens, owned by former MPA of Tando Allahyar and ex-Sindh revenue minister Dr.Irfan Gul Magsi. The vehicles included vans and trucks that were hired by Magsi for January 8 elections as he is contesting elections from PS-52 and his sister from NA-223. Two persons were injured on Tando Allahyar-Chambar road in Tando Allahyar district when an oil tanker was torched. They set ablaze Rashidabad Railway Station, DDO Revenue Office, excise office and hospital in Rashidabad, government buildings, PTV boosters on Tando Adam road. Taluka Council Jhando Mari and Chambar were torched while a petrol pump was set alight near Pir Kathi. Police was deployed to protect district council. They tear gassed attackers and three policemen were injured when mob hurled stones. Thousands of mourners held a protest rally in Matiari at Oderolal station where enraged activists set ablaze railway station, railway track, post office, MCB and ransacked different government offices. A petrol pump belonging to former federal minister, Liaquat Ali Jatoi, near Khyber was torched and four trailers were burnt at petrol pump. Miscreants set ablaze 12 vehicles on national highway near Matiari where Rangers have started patrolling highway and roads in convoys. Angry protesters set ablaze district council building of Tando Muhammad Khan, post office, railway station, civil court, MCB, UBL, ABL and ZTBL. The mob attacked police lines while protesters resorted to aerial firing. Around 20 shops have been burnt in bazaar of Kotri city while a post office was torched in Site area of Kotri. Miscreants set ablaze book bank of central library and digital library, containing 100 computers in Sindh University. The seminar library of English department was set ablaze while 40 point buses of university were damaged. The university petrol pump at Jamshoro Phatak was torched. The outlaws attacked Sindh Textbook Board, inflicting huge losses. A huge mob which had its own axes to grind attacked a multinational pharmaceutical company - Novartis, destroyed its machinery and medicines and torched 14 vans, four buses and 10 cars. The company suffered losses of tens of millions of rupees in machinery, medicines and vehicles. Miscreants besieged company on Thursday night and held over 500 employees including women hostages, who had to pass night in factory. The miscreants, according to insiders, told managerial staff that this was a punishment to multinational company for not giving jobs to local people. Taluka nazim office and a bus were set on fire in Pithoro, district Umerkot. One Faqir Razi Rajar sustained bullet injuries in firing in Umerkot while in Bachao Band three persons Ali Asghar, Pappu Khaskheli and an unidentified person were injured. In Mithi, two air-conditioned coaches were set on fire after ransacking. In Nagarparkar, 11 persons were injured in police firing. One bank, a van were torched. Police baton charged protesters. In Chhore, Met office, post office, railway station, town committee office was ransacked. In Kunri, two shops were set ablaze while one Ali Sher sustained injuries. In Sanghar, all markets, shops and business centres remained closed. It is pertinent to mention here that this is the first time during last 12 years that people observed strike. In Jhol, protesters burnt post office while police post at Bago Wadadari was also torched. A petrol pump of taluka nazim Khipro, Haji Khuda Bux Dars (PML-F) in Khipro was set ablaze whereas at Nauabad, MCB branch was burnt. Shahdadpur, Shahpur Chakar, Khipro, Tando Adam, Jhol, Maqsoodo, Lundo and Sarhari towns also remained closed. Roads wore deserted look. The mob also attacked Tando Adam railway station and communication system was damaged. Election office of MQM and PML-F candidate Jam Mashooq Ali was ransacked in Tando Adam. In Bhit Bhaiti town, two persons - Feroze and Leelo Kolhi were injured in firing. SHO Khipro and policemen were forcibly disembarked from police mobile and vehicle was set ablaze. Telephone exchange, town committee office were also burnt. The protesters also set on fire a utility store in Perumal after looting it. Police fired on the mob as result Mahesh Kumar was injured who was rushed to hospital. Telephone exchanges of Rawtiani, Lundo, Sarhari and Khadro were ransacked and burnt by angry mobs. Portraits of Pir Pagaro in Khipro and Tando Adam were also burnt. Ghaibana Nimaz-e-Janaza was offered in Bobby, Tando Adam and Sanghar. In Thatta the angry protesters blew up main railway track and set on fire Jhampir railway station. An angry mob set fire to four factories. Al Abbas Gas Factory, Indus Jute Mills, OK Oil Mills and Anwer Textile Mills were set ablaze. Reports said that angry protesters used a bulldozer to demolish some parts of the factories. The protesters also set fire to twenty shops in a shopping mall. The union council office of Dhabejee was also destroyed. In Thatta, Ghulam Hyder Samoon, Esso Kumbhar and Lal Khan were injured as Rangers opened fire on protesting youth. The mob set on fire 12 vehicles including over half a dozen police mobiles. The activists broke open lockups of Thatta sub-jail providing an opportunity to more than 25 under trial prisoners to escape. The police guards exchanged fire with mob but failed to prevent escaping prisoners. In Chuhar Jamali, two PPP activists a Pathan and a Jaru by caste were killed during an exchange of fire with police. A mob attacked Mirpur Sakro police station resulting in injuries to three police constables. One of them was identified as Amir Bux Khoso. The mob set ablaze the police station and its adjacent irrigation office. The mob set on fire DCO office, district nazim office, circuit house, NBP, MCB, UBL, HBL branches, PTCL main carrier, utility store, and a number of private properties in Thatta and Makli. Over two dozens activists were injured in different incidents. All the NBP branches were damaged and set on fire throughout the nine talukas of the district. Thatta town remained a battle field the entire day and no traffic was allowed to ply. Tension prevailed in the district and Ghaibana Nimaz-e-Janaza was offered in Thatta, Mirpur Bathoro Mirpur Sakro, Gharo, Jhoke Sharif and other towns of the district. In Naushahro Feroze all the telephone exchanges in Naushahro Feroze, Moro, Lakha road, Bhirya road, Khan Wahan and Kotri Kabir were set ablaze by the miscreants and the entire communication system was destroyed. The offices of DCO and all EDOs, district nazim office, treasury office, Nadra office, mono-technical college, Hesco offices, SSGC office, public health engineering office, agriculture office, taluka council, government Madressah high school, seven scheduled banks including ZTBL, National Savings Centre and post office were set ablaze by the miscreants not necessarily PPP activists. The unruly mob also attacked the district food godown where 6,000 bags of wheat were stored and looted the wheat bags. Thirty shops were set ablaze and looted. An arms and ammunition shop was also looted. More than 50 trailers and oil tankers were torched on Moro national highway. The courts of additional sessions judge, judicial magistrate, senior civil judge and civil judge, 100 shops, MQM office, post office, mukhtiarkar office and all banks in Moro were also torched. In Kandiaro, 200 shops, UC office, motorway police office with seven vehicles were torched. In Lakha road, the remaining four bogies of the Karachi express, which had met with an accident a few days back, a goods train, two railway engines, railway station and telephone exchange were put to torch. In Halani, a police picket, a Khairpur university bus, post office and UC office were put to torch. In Kotri Kabir, UBL and an excise post were burnt. In Bhirya road, MCB, telephone exchange and UC office while in Mithiani, a petrol pump were torched.Reports said that all the shops, which were looted and burnt in Naushahro Feroze and Moro, belonged to Urdu and Punjabi speaking people. In Kandiaro, 15 trucks and trailers were set ablaze. In Dadu hundreds of PPP workers staged a sit-in on Dadu-Larkana road and blocked the road for several hours. The rally was fired upon from the roof of the house that reportedly belonged to a relative of Jatois. The PPP activists hurled stones and those who had fired upon the rally later left their house. Telephone exchange, Hesco offices, courts, DCO and mukhtiarkar offices, circuit house and gymkhana were set ablaze by the miscreants, who also attacked an arms and ammunition shop and escaped with scores of weapons. In Sehwan, the mob burnt NBP and UBL and two petrol pumps, one of which belonged to the brother-in-law of Liaquat Ali Jatoi, Chakar Khan Shahani. The miscreants also ransacked more than 50 shops and looted goods valued at tens of thousands of rupees. In Nawabshah at least seven persons - Hassan, Hasaam, Naseer, Malik, Ahmed Ali, Ali Raza Khoso, Arman Ahmed and an unidentified were injured in violence incidents. Shah Rukn-e-Alam Express and a goods train were set ablaze in Daur. The goods train was also carrying two army trucks. Hazara Express train was set ablaze in Sarhari. Taluka municipal office, four banks, Hesco, irrigation and mukhtiarkar offices were burnt by the mob. In Bandhi, Nadra office, PTCL exchange, post office and a bank were set on fire. In Buchheri, railway station, police station, boys school, phone exchange and union council office were torched. Mob also attacked Gupchani, but police staff escaped. In Sakrand, five banks, post office were set on fire and MQM office was ransacked. Mob attacked sub-jail Sakrand giving access to escape to seven under trial prisoners. In Doulatpur, two banks, taluka nazim office, utility store, civil judge court building, DDO, mukhtiarkar, union council, Hesco offices, post office, phone exchange and rural health centre were torched by the unruly mob. A jeep of ZTBL was also burnt. Rangers have been called out and were patrolling in the city. Optical fibre cable was damaged which resulted into suspension of service of v-wireless phone and NTC numbers. In Khairpur a large number of protesters uprooted about 100 feet railway track in Khanpur and broke railway signals near railway crossing Luqman. The protesters also damaged 16 bogies of goods train standing at Khairpur railway station. The unruly mob set ablaze the office and residence of district nazim. Enraged youths also attacked and ransacked the Otaq of PML-F local leader Abdul Majeed Arain and his brother, UC nazim Luqman, Munir Arain. Some vehicles parked there were also torched. At the gate of Otaq, PPP activist Khadim Soomro was killed in the firing while Munawar Mirjat was injured. Barrage mukhtiarkar office and deputy director agriculture office were torched in Khairpur. ZTBL Khairpur branch was also set ablaze. In Ranipur, mob torched branches of banks, utility, store and also damaged railway station Ranipur. Government offices and some private shops were torched in Pakka Chang. A point bus of Shah Latif University Khairpur was set ablaze in Thari Mirwah. Khairpur and other main towns of the district remained closed. National highway, district and link roads wore deserted look as no transport was plying. Some trailers were burnt in Ranipur. Ghanshamdas from Jacobabad reports that two persons were killed in Thul in violence incidents. They were identified as Suleman Selro and Qamaruddin Shaikh. Mob burnt Madadgar 15 police post, post office, excise office, railway station, micro finance bank, anti-corruption office, ABL, telephone office, Hesco office, Askari bank, NBP, session court, civil court, zila nazim secretariat, PIA office, MCB, UBL, Gadai library, city police station. The protesters also burnt and looted about 100 shops, ten luggage bogies. Police were nowhere to be seen. Ten vehicles were also burnt in protests. In Mirpurkhas a 12-year-old child was killed and over one dozen other persons were injured in different incidents of violence. About 100 private and government vehicles were torched and over 100 shops were looted and set on fire while dozens of government and private properties were damaged and set on fire by unruly mob. Report said that city was in grip of harassment and traffic were missing from the streets and roads. All the markets and bazaars remained closed. Rangers have started patrolling. The rangers exchanged fire with miscreants in Hameedpura colony, the vehicle of SP investigation was fired at in Hirabad area. Some miscreants damaged the railway track between Mirpurkhas and Khokhropar near Dhoronaro as result train service between Mirpurkhas and Khokhropar was also suspended. One Shah Baig was killed when he was scaling wall of police station and the police opened fire. A case has been registered against two police officials. Over one dozen people were taken into custody by police. On Friday morning (December 28), the people from rural areas started pouring in the city and protesting. NBP, HBL, cooperative bank, two petrol pumps, over one dozen vehicles including police mobiles were set on fire. The mob ransacked the election office, district nazim office and irrigation office and set on fire taluka nazim office, police post, agriculture office. In Kadhan, police mobile and a bank were torched, while a bank was set ablaze in Dumbalo. In Kario Ghanwar, two filling stations and banks were set ablaze. Exchange of fire took place when mob attacked bungalows of former Sindh minister, Ali Bux Shah and PML leader Sher Jamali. Incidents of arsons and vandalism were also reported from Khor wah, Matli and other towns.
Thousands booked
across Sindh for loot and arson Following the deployment of army and Rangers in interior Sindh, no untoward incident was reported from any district or town, although the civic life remained completely paralysed.
Ghaibana nimaz-i-janaza, fateha khwani and Quran khwani were held across the province for the soul of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. All shops and business houses throughout Sindh remained closed on the fourth day of mourning on Sunday. People had to suffer a lot of inconvenience due to acute shortage of kitchen items especially flour and vegetables. Scores of FIRs were registered at different police stations in interior Sindh against arsonists who had damaged public and private properties. Nine FIRs were registered at Tandojam police station against 200 people including Awam Dost UC nazim Shafqat Hussain Shah and secretary general Sindh NGOs federation Mohammad Ilyas Khokhar. In Mirpurkhas, over 12 dozen cases have been registered at Satellite and Town police stations against 1,500 people. In Nawabshah, 2000 were been booked in eight different cases. In Dadu, 60 FIRs were registered against 3,500 people at different police stations while 1,500 alleged arsonists were booked in three different FIRs at Gharo police station of Thatta district. No public transport was available and all highways and roads wore a deserted look. Petrol pumps also remained closed. People were seen travelling on donkey carts. Thousands of train passengers remained stranded for want of transport. More than 1,200 passengers of Awam Express remained stranded in Sanghar district since Thursday. They were, however, rescued with the help of Rangers and police. The train had been halted at Nawaz Dahiri Railway Station since Thursday evening departed for Rohri on Saturday after collecting passengers from Nawaz Dahiri and Daur railway stations. Five FIRs were lodged at Moro police against unidentified miscreants who had torched 118 vehicles, civil courts and five vehicles of the Motorway police. The situation remains tense. The roads wore a deserted look as the public transport has not yet been brought on the roads. The Rangers have set-up headquarter in the district and carried out patrolling on the roads. Pickets were set-up outside all the government buildings, including the offices of district nazim, naib nazims, district council hall, taluka and UC nazims and seven banks which were set ablaze by the rioters during the last three days. The telecommunication system was seriously affected due to the destruction of telephone exchange. The Internet system was also disrupted. The civic life was seriously disturbed and the prices of kitchen items shot up. Wheat flour was sold at the rate of Rs. 40 to Rs. 50 per kg while potatoes, onions and tomatoes were being sold at the rate of Rs. 60 to Rs. 80 per kg. Meanwhile, fateha Khwani and Quran Khwani was held at the residence of former Sindh minister, Syed Mohsin Shah Bukhari and Sarhandi house. In Hyderabad a relative calm prevailed in Hyderabad as patrolling by troops created deterrence against mob rule and no violent incident was reported on Sunday. However, people continued to face shortage of food and kitchen item supplies in the city as all shops and main markets remained closed as a result of violence following Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. There was complete calm in the city but majority of people didn’t come out of homes. They were experiencing shortage of food items’ supplies because main markets and shops remained closed. In some isolated cases some vendors did appear on roads in Latifabad but by and large there was complete closure of bazaars there as well. The district administration contacted its counterpart in Tando Allahyar to send vegetables so that supplies should begin from Sabzi Mandi where most of vendors’ pushcarts were torched. Edhi volunteers brought around 50 passengers of Awam Express and set up a camp in their hospital near Auto Bhan road. They were provided food. These 50 passengers were out of those around 1000 passengers who remained stranded near Jalal Mari between Shahdadpur and Tando Adam railway station for two days. Quran Khawani and soyem was held in different areas. Hyderabad PPP district chapter held a soyem fateha in Saddar area while Sindh Tarraqi Passand Party (STPP) also held soyem fateha at Tarraqi Passand House in Qasimabad. Similar congregations were also held in Phulelli and Paretabad, Kotri taluka and Jamshoro. The members of civil society lit candles and placed bouquet on the portrait of late Benazir Bhutto outside local press club to pay homage to departed soul. Shops and trade centres remained closed throughout the district of Sanghar. Quran Khwani was held in Jhol, Shahdadpur, Shahpur Chakar, Khipro, Sanghar, Khadro, Tando Adam, Barani and many other small towns and villages for the departed soul of Benazir Bhutto. More than 1,200 passengers of Awam Express, who were stranded at Jalal Mari railway station near Tando Adam since Thursday, were evacuated late Saturday night by local PPP leaders with the help of Rangers and police. HBL Sarhari branch, several telephone exchanges, a post office, UC buildings of Hathungo, Hingorno and Kurkali were also damaged. Khairpur and other main towns remained completely closed. Due to non-availability of food items people faced difficulties. In some colonies, some shops were opened in the evening where flour, sugar and ghee were sold on an increased rate and people had to stand in long queues to purchase the kitchen items. The patients were the worst sufferer as all the medical stores in the city and others areas of the district remained closed for the last four days. Due to continuous closure of petrol pumps, people used donkey carts for transportation. Civic life remained paralysed in the city and other towns of district. The citizens continued to suffer due to non-availability of essential commodities whereas transport remained off the road. Mirpurkhas city and other towns wore a deserted look as all the markets, bazaars and shopping centres remained closed while no violent incident was reported. Law enforcing agencies were patrolling in the city as well as other towns of the district. Tension prevailed in Walkart area where law enforcing agencies were deployed to control the situation. The miscreants forcibly entered the building of board of intermediate and secondary education Mirpurkhas late Saturday night and set on fire the building and two vehicles of the board. Law enforcing agencies reached the spot and fire brigade extinguished the fire. TMA staff started cleaning the roads and streets by removing burnt debris in the city. Traffic was missing from the roads while a few motorcycles were running on the roads. Owing to closure of the chakkis and wholesale shops, prices of food items also increased. Shortage of vegetables and fruits prevailed in the city as transport was not available from other areas. Fuel stations were closed causing difficulties to the people to acquire the fuel for their vehicles. Transports on Sanghar, Umerkot, Khipro, Mithi and Hyderabad routes was not available, while train service remained suspended from Mirpurkhas to other areas. PPP activists held Quran khawani and Fateha khawani at different places on the occasion of soyem of late Benazir Bhutto. Hundreds of workers and citizens attended these programmes. According to Raja Faqeer Bilalani, spokesman for PPP Tharparkar district, PPP office-bearers and workers of Naukot were implicated in false cases by the police. He claimed that Mithi and Diplo police arrested PPP leader Mohammad Khan Lund, Mehan Bajeer and 58 other workers and shifted them to unknown place. Mirwah Gorchani, Digri, Tando Jan Mohammad, Jhuddo, Naukot, Jhillori, Kot Ghulam Mohammad and Khaan, also remained closed. All the markets, bazaars, shopping centres remained closed in Umerkot town. Umerkot police lodged a case on the complaint of Jiando Rahimoon, leader of PML-Q against the PPP workers, including Mumtaz Rahimoon, Aijaz Rahimoon, Haji Jamal and others for looting Rs82,000 cash and setting on fire the shop. Police also registered a case on behalf of state for setting ablaze a bank. Ghaibana Nimaz-i-Janaza were offered by the PPP and PPP-SB activists and journalists in Jacobabad. Fourteen cases were lodged against 2,000 persons at different police stations of Jacobabad city. A trader Inder Lal lodged an FIR for looting his flour godown. Police have arrested 20 persons but their names were not disclosed. Abdul Aziz reports from Naushahro Feroze: Although no untoward incident was reported in any part of the district, life remained completely paralysed as all shops and markets remained totally closed and the public transport remained off the roads. At least 1,100 passengers of Karachi Express, which was set ablaze at Mehrabpur railway station, remained stranded. However, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of DCO, which decided to arrange 40 buses for the stranded passengers. The passengers were provided food and shelter by the local people during the last two days. A marriage party coming from Rahim Yar Khan and comprising 60 people was also stranded at Dargah Allahabad at Kandiaro. Five FIRs were lodged at Moro police station of the district against the miscreants who had torched over 118 vehicles and five vehicles of Motorway police and civil courts. In one of the cases, Senior Civil Judge and Assistant Session Judge Mr Ghulam Mustafa, is the complainant who has filed an FIR against setting ablaze court buildings. A heavy contingent of police raided different houses in Talib Solangi village, who had looted wheat bags from the godowns of the food department in Naushahro Feroze during the last two days. The city as well as other towns of Shikarpur district remained closed. All the trade centres, bazaars and markets remained closed and all kinds of transport remained suspended. Ghaibana Nimaz-i-Janaza was offered in the Mirani park which was attended by a large number of citizens. The Quran Khwani was also held at different places in the district. PPP activists led by Aftab Shaban Mirani staged a demonstration on circular road to protest the assassination. People faced hardships due to shortage of food items. The total and partial loss to at least 12 petrol pumps, 10 banks, seven police stations, nine police mobiles, five police motorcycles, four offices of taluka nazims, six offices of union councils, two offices of revenue mukhtiarkars, other 13 offices of government departments and number of private vehicles and shops were reportedly set ablaze during two days in the violence. A complete shutter down was observed in all the Tharparkar towns including Mithi, Diplo, Islamkot, Nagarparkar and Chhachhro. People had to face lot of difficulties due to closure of markets and non-availability of any transport. No newspaper could reach here on Friday and Saturday.
Benazir
Laid To Rest Amidst Anger, Shock
LARKANA, Dec 28: Overcome with grief and shock, thousands of people converged on Garhi Khuda Bux to bury former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto next to her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in her family mausoleum on Friday (28th December). Earlier, the slain opposition leader’s body was flown to Sukkur from Rawalpindi in a C-130 plane. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, and children Bilawal (19), Bakhtawar (17) and Aseefa (14) came aboard the same plane. The body was then taken to Moenjodaro airport by helicopter. Mourners wept inconsolably and beat their chests when Ms Bhutto’s body finally reached Naudero House. They jostled to see the coffin of their leader who lost her life while acknowledging the cheers of jubilant party activists near Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh. Ghinwa Bhutto, the estranged sister-in-law of the slain prime minister, came to Naudero House. She was accompanied by Fatima Bhutto and Zulfikar Junior. Sanam Bhutto, the youngest daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, flew in from London. She has lost her three elder siblings to unnatural deaths. Her father was hanged in 1979 after being deposed in a military coup. Mr Zardari and Bilawal sat in the ambulance that took the coffin, draped with the green, red and black tricolour of the PPP, to Garhi Khuda Bux from Naudero. Former Larkana nazim Khursheed Junejo drove the ambulance. The road to the mausoleum was packed with so many Bhutto supporters that the journey of a couple of kilometres took over two hours. Mourners, who came mostly on foot, climbed the rooftop of the three-domed mausoleum. The PPP leaders who attended the funeral included Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Naheed Khan, Senator Dr Safdar Abbasi, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Raza Rabbani and Taj Haidar. Mr Zardari, Bilawal, Khursheed Junejo, Shahid Bhutto, Nadir Magsi and Zulfikar Junior lowered Ms Bhutto’s body in the grave. Wearing a black dress, a tearful Bilawal laid a wreath at his mother’s grave. Many mourners chanted slogans against President Pervez Musharraf, former Sindh chief minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim and the United States. Women wailed as men, struggling to fight off tears, said the people of Sindh had been orphaned. Enraged protesters set fire to a post office, a utility store and a local bank branch. They also torched Khushhal Khan Khattak Express whose 10 bogies had already been set ablaze at the Shahnawaz Bhutto railway station. In Larkana, protesters went on the rampage and torched the offices of district nazim. They burnt five vehicles including two fire brigade vehicles standing in the secretariat, sources said. The protesters damaged gold shops in Shahi Bazaar and burnt tyres. They damaged the main Wapda office and set fire to vehicles standing there. They also set ablaze the railway office and the municipal committee offices. They also damaged the offices of the Sui Southern Gas Company and a local telecommunications company. Rioting took place at such a scale that smouldering vehicles stood on most Larkana roads at the end of the day.
Benazir’s killing a major blow to the US goal of stabilising Pakistan
They said the sudden loss of a leading pro-American leader threatens Pakistan’s transition to democracy and leaves both President Pervez Musharraf and the Bush Administration’s strategies vulnerable. ”Our foreign policy has relied on her presence as a stabilising force. She had a big public following . . . Without her, we will have to regroup,” Senator Arlen Specter said, who is in Pakistan and was scheduled to meet Bhutto. The Washington Post quoted Senator Specter as saying that now things will become difficult for the American government. The Bush Administration had worked to strike a deal between Bhutto and Musharraf, which would allow her to return to Pakistan and create a wider political front against growing extremist movements in tribal areas of Pakistan bordering. With the assassination of Bhutto, an unpopular Musharraf has been virtually left with no major political allies who are willing to take positions that are widely unpopular in Pakistan, but critical to US interests, the Washington Post said. Former US policymakers and analysts said that Bhutto’s assassination also puts in doubt prospects a credible government in Pakistan through elections. ”More broadly, this is a major loss because the elections scheduled for January 8, 2008 had the potential to move the country forward,” said Daniel Markey of the Council on Foreign Relations. ”Despite her past failures, Bhutto was still a legitimate leader, who could have worked with Musharraf and the army,” he added. The Post reported that the Bush Administration was clearly taken aback by Bhutto’s death, despite earlier assassination attempts and ongoing threats against her. President Bush condemned Bhutto’s assassination as a ”cowardly act by murderous extremists” trying to undermine Pakistan’s democracy. Within hours of the attack, Bush called Musharraf to express U.S. support for the democratic transition and upcoming elections. ”We don’t want to see any kind of backsliding in terms of people’s civil liberties,” a senior State Department official said, adding this was the message Bush planned to make to Musharraf. Former US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Karl F. Inderfurth, said that the US had seen Bhutto as the bridge to the formation of a civilian democratic government and now that she’s been removed, the Bush Administration would have to reassess how to deal with Pakistan’s very uncertain future. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has appealed to Pakistanis to remain calm and to continue to try and build a ”moderate” democracy. Washington also signalled that the elections should go forward without delay, arguing that any postponement would only reward Bhutto’s killers. ”I don’t think it would do any justice to her memory to have an election postponed or cancelled simply as a result of this tragic incident,” State Department spokesman Tom Casey said. The US is particularly concerned about the potential for initial demonstrations to become open-ended protests against the Musharraf regime. - Malaysia Sun
Benazir Bhutto’s
Assassination sparks violence People reacted violently to Benazir’s assassination by torching government properties and vehicles throughout interior of Sindh. Protesters resorted to arson and vandalism on hearing the news of their leader Benazir Bhutto being killed soon after addressing a meeting in Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi, on Thursday.
Thousands of terrified passengers, travelling through buses and trains, were stranded at different locations of highways and at railways stations. A pall of gloom, anger, desperation and mourning gripped whole of Sindh, right from Karachi to Kashmore as news about assassination of PPP chairperson spread like wildfire. Four persons including two PPP workers received bullet injuries in Tando Allahyar district. Angry people took to streets in groups to force closure of shops and business houses throughout interior Sindh. Streetlights were switched off immediately and all towns were plunged into darkness. Railway traffic between up and down country was suspended by railway authorities. Angry protesters, who were weeping profusely and hugging each other in mourning, took to streets and burnt many banks, petrol pumps and government offices as well as offices of elected nazims, naib nazims including police stations. District Nazim secretariats of Hyderabad and DPO and DCO offices Tando Mohammad Khan were torched. Properties of Jatois were set ablaze in Dadu. Police was nowhere to be seen as it remained within the police stations. National and super highways remained blocked and scores of vehicles were set ablaze. In Hyderabad after news of Benazir Bhutto’s death was aired on TV channels, violent protesters and angry PPP activists took full control of the city in no time as they ruled almost all the main arteries of the city, pelting vehicles with stones and torching dozens of vehicles. This reporter didn’t find any personnel of police or any other law enforcing agencies during visit to different parts of the city. Main pockets and roads looked like a battlefield as even fire tenders couldn’t reach areas where vehicles and banks were burnt. The news spread like a wild fire and the city witnessed a total breakdown of law and order situation at around 6.30 pm. Enraged youths who carried baton, iron rods, bricks and stones came out on the roads, hurling abuses to give vent to their anger and forcing people to run helter skelter. Stampede among elderly men, women and young children with luggage on their heads who were returning from different parts was witnessed. It led to a worst traffic jams on the roads but soon vehicles got off the roads as panic-stricken people found no means of transport for travelling. Areas of Gari Khata, Qazi Abdul Qayyum road, National Highway, Shah Makki Road, Site area, Qasimabad, Hirabad, Session Court, Fatima Jinnah road, Gharib Nawaz Bridge, etc., were the worst affected areas. According to a safe estimate over three dozen vehicles were burnt. Miscreants burnt a fleet of vehicles in the parking lot of a hotel in front of central jail. They burnt over one dozen vehicles in a row on a section of National Highway in front of Barrage colony, outside central jail, Gharib Nawaz bridge, Shah Makki Road and Thandi Sarak area. Branches of UBL, HBL, NBP, MCB and Al-Habib, were torched in Cantonment area, Hussainabad, Qasimabad. Protesters attacked Tandojam police station. Up and down country railway traffic remained suspended and railway authorise halted trains at different railways stations, including Hyderabad, Kotri, Tando Adam, Dhabeji, Tandojam, etc. Attempts were made by protesters to torch the bogies. A similar situation was averted at Hyderabad railway station. Enraged people set ablaze Matiari police station offices of DPO, taluka nazim, naib nazim and TMO. Protesters torched four vehicles parked at Matiari police station, including police mobiles. Police tear gassed and fired to disperse crowd. Protesters blocked National Highway and torched four trailers. Protesters were targeting government properties. Angry people set ablaze ABL and PICIC banks in Tando Allahyar. When protesters tried to torch NBP, the bank guard resorted to firing injuring Abdul Karim alias Babu, Jakhro Khan, Muneer and Abbu Shah who were removed to Hyderabad. An unknown person tried to commit suicide on hearing news of Ms Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. The city plunged into darkness when her death’s news reached here. Police disappeared from the scene. Enraged activists set ablaze district nazim secretariat, TMA office, HBL, a fire engine and two petrol pumps in Tando Mohammad Khan. The entire city was in the control of protesters while police is nowhere to be seen. Offices of the DPO and the DCO were torched and a NBP branch was ransacked. In Shikarpur, the offices of Edhi welfare trust, PIA, taluka municipal administration, district council, railway station, MQM, First Women Bank were ransacked. Angry mob took to streets and resorted to heavy firing in Lakhi gate and other areas of city. All shopkeepers closed their shops to mourn the death of Benazir Bhutto. Youth resorted to acts of arson and vandalism at a number of spots. In Thatta hundreds of protesters took to streets and set on fire the telephone exchange, a traffic police picket, taluka council office, NBP main branch, MCB, Raja bakery and a number of vehicles. Protesters attacked Thatta police station and exchanged fire with police, injuring an unidentified constable while another person was injured in aerial firing. Within minutes, roads and streets wore a deserted look while enraged protesters resorted to heavy firing, pelted stones at vehicles and smashed windscreens of a number of vehicles. Emotional scenes were witnessed wherein a number of people were seen crying and hugging each other in mourning. Large billboards of different commercial companies and portraits of the Shirazis and banners and flags of pro-government parties were set on fire. Same situation prevailed in Mirpur Bathoro, Gharo, Sujawal, Jati, Chuhar Jamali and Jhoke Sharif. In Badin, shops were closed, youths took to streets and set ablaze tyres. Some enraged protesters resorted to aerial firing. People remained indoors due to tension. In Nawabshah, all markets and shops were closed as soon as the news of the assassination reached here. Enraged protesters came out on the roads and resorted to aerial firing. Protesters burnt tyres in different parts of the city. Hundreds of PPP activists and supporters gathered at Zardari House Nawabshah immediately after the news of the assassination. Some unidentified persons set ablaze moving carts in Liaquat Market. Protesters also blocked the National Highway at Qazi Ahmed suspending all kind of traffic which could not be restored till the filing of this report. Main cloth market and two vehicles were also torched.In Khairpur, a large number of PPP activists came out on roads and main chowks of the city including Luqman Phatak area, Garhi Pul, Khaki Shah Pul and blocked the roads. No transport including rickshaw or taxi could be seen in the city. People were seen weeping after hearing the news. Private clinics remained closed whereas roads in the city wore a deserted look. People in other towns of the district including Gambat, Faiz Ganj, Ranipur, Sobhodero also protested against the incident. Tharparkar, Mithi, Islamkot, Diplo and other towns were closed. Protesters raised slogans and burnt tyres. In Naushahro Feroze, hundreds of people gathered in Padidan and hurled stones at the railway station. A public meeting in Tharushah was being addressed by PPP candidate Syed Zafar Ali Shah at that time when the news of the assassination reached there. The crowd dispersed and participants took out rallies and the town was closed. Over 600 people were gathered at Allahwala chowk Naushahro Feroze and were weeping and firing in the air. All the main bazaars, markets were shut down. In Kandiaro, thousands of people had come out on the National Highway and burnt several vehicles. Enraged protesters torched MCB, UBL, Motorway office and about 10 vehicles were torched in office. About half a dozen trailers were burnt on main Kandiaro road. A number of shops were burnt in Shahi bazaar. Over 1,000 people attacked the Moro police station. A large number of shops were burnt while five shops were torched in Naushahro Feroze. ASI Mohammad Yousuf said that they were not able to move. The ASI confirmed that hundreds of people have gathered on the National Highway and burnt several vehicles. He said that National Bank Moro was also burnt by the enraged people. In Naushahro Feroze, people torched shops near Habib chowk and National Highway. A mob ransacked an MQM office and torched furniture. People tried to set NBP Naushahro Feroze on fire but police opened fire and dispersed them. Branches of MCB, HBL, UBL and ABL were also set ablaze. Bazaars remained closed in Mehrabpur while an MQM office was set ablaze at Bhirya town. In Dadu, protesters burnt National Bank, Habib Bank, a bungalow and cinema, believed to be properties of the former federal minister, Liaquat Ali Jatoi. Some transformers were torched. Protesters fired and blocked Larkana and Moro roads and other exit roads. They pulled down portraits and election banners of Liaquat Jatoi. Hundreds of PPP workers were out on roads which were without streetlights, weeping and embracing one and other. Police were not seen any where. A blackout was witnessed. Police tear gassed protesters, who besieged a police station. In Mirpurkhas, violence erupted as hundreds of enraged protesters carrying arms and sticks forced shopkeepers to close down shops and ransack outlets and beat up some shopkeepers. They resorted to heavy firing and burnt tyres in different parts of the city. Police were nowhere to be seen as people closed Nawabshah, Sindhri, Umerkot and Hyderabad railway crossings, pelting stones on portraits of different leaders at different places. Traffic remained off the road and protesters set on fire electricity poles at post office chowk, Market chowk and ransacked patrol pumps. Enraged protesters ransacked shops on M.A.Jinnah road. The city remained in the grip of violence and armed men were ruling roads and streets, burning tyres. Posters and flags of different parties were torched. A group of people set on fire office of Sunni Tehrik.Protesters torched shops in Mohajir colony chowk, Hirabad and Walkart, firing in the air. Gunmen damaged emergency and other wards of civil hospital. Enraged protesters resorted to aerial firing in Umerkot and shopkeepers closed their shops. Protesters raised slogans against the government. In Jacobabad, District and Sessions Court, district council office, election office, MCB, NBP, Askari Bank and UBL were torched. An enraged mob attacked the DPO house but police foiled their bid by opening fire. A number of arson and vandalism incidents were reported. Some groups were looting shops at Tower road, Quaid-i-Azam road, main temple street, Shahi bazaar and Sarafa bazaar. There was firing and fire throughout the city.
Collapse of insurance companies feared KARACHI, Dec 29: Insurance companies will bear the major brunt of huge losses incurred during violence in the county and the biggest loss would be in Karachi where more than 700 vehicles were torched and over 140 bank branches were set on fire. Apart from this, two main victims of violence, factories, godowns, markets and commercial buildings were also vandalised and burnt in Karachi and other parts of Pakistan. Most of them are commercially important properties and are insured, and the amount involved is huge that could collapse some insurance companies. An Adamjee Insurance Company officer said it would require weeks and months to assess the actual cost of damage, but apparently the loss could be in billions. He said it is yet to be known how much damage has been caused as reports are reaching from remote areas of the province. The far-flung areas of the province were more affected. Reports reaching here reveal that convoys carrying goods to up-county were looted or set ablaze. It is not known how much convoys carrying goods were trapped in the violence, but a car dealer said several convoys carrying luxury vehicles were set on fire which alone could cause more than a billion of rupees loss. About a dozen general insurance companies are operative in the country, but the insurance penetration is much lower than India and Sri Lanka. However, due to large population of over 160 million, the market is wide enough to yield good money to the insurance companies. An insurance officer, who inspects and estimates losses and prepares initial reports, said the loss could collapse some new-comers in the field of general insurance as they are yet to develop their network. A company with a small network could not face the huge loss like the violence that erupted on last Thursday, he said.
Life paralysed in Islamabad ISLAMABAD: Dec 28: Social and economic life in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and the nearby cities of Chakwal, Jhelum, Gujar Khan, Fateh Jang, Taxila, Wah and Attock remained paralysed on the first day of three-day mourning on Friday over former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.
The complete shutter down was rare and never seen in the recent history of the country as the nation from Khyber to Karachi was in a state of shock over Ms Bhutto’s assassination. In Islamabad and Rawalpindi, almost all major and small business centres and markets remained closed with no public transport on the road, causing hardships to people. The federal capital wore a deserted look. Government offices and markets were closed and traffic on the road was thin. Protesters burnt tyres at different road crossings in the two cities, including Aabpara Market, Jinnah Avenue, Peshawar More, Karachi Company, Barakahu, Faizabad, Stadium Road, 6th Road, Rehmanabad, Chandni Chowk, Committee Chowk, Marrir Chowk, many areas in Saddar, Ratta Amral, Fowwara Chowk and Lal Kurti. In Islamabad, Aabpara Market, Super Market, Jinnah Super Market, Karachi Company Market, F-10 Markaz, F-8 Markaz, F-11 Markaz, G-10, G-11 Markaz and all I&T Centres remained closed. It was for the first time that even the retail business remained suspended for the whole day. Long queues of people were seen at wagon stops and bays where they waited for hours to get cabs to reach different destinations. Taking advantage of the situation, taxi drivers charged higher fares. Roads and streets in Rawalpindi were deserted, except for thin movement of private vehicles and ambulances. The usually bustling Murree Road looked deserted. Public transport was not available and employees of essential services agencies had to walk kilometres to reach their duty stations. Drug stores, private clinics, grocery stores, bakeries, hotels and restaurants, fruits and vegetable vendors, petrol pumps and CNG stations were also closed, as were shopping malls, shops and business centres and academic institutes. Banners of candidates of different political parties, particularly of the PML-Q, were removed from the Murree Road, Rawalpindi cantonment and other areas. Several election offices of the PML-Q were burnt by protestors. In a statement, the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the business community stood by the nation in the hour of grief and condemned the assassination of Ms Bhutto. The closure of petrol gasoline stations in Rawalpindi affected patients the most because they could not be taken to hospitals. Those who somehow managed to reach hospitals found it difficult to return home. A young man, Mohammad Nadeem, was seen asking a motorcyclist to take his mother to Sadiqabad because she could not walk due to pain in her knees but the biker told him that he had no petrol and walked away with his motorcycle. In some areas, petrol and diesel were sold in the black market at higher rates. There was no business activity in Raja Bazaar, Banni area, Saidpur Road, Murree Road, Sadiqabad, Naz Cinema, Dhoke Khabba, Arian Mohalla and other areas. Our Reporter Marium Kiani has this detail: Mr Rehan of Satellite Town told Dawn: “I went to meet some relative at Askari-VII on Thursday evening; coming home cost me Rs500 because there was no public vehicle available and the taxi I got after a long wait charged me higher.” “We are not getting out of homes because it’s risky,” said Haleema, a university student.
Banks
suffer loss of billions in violence KARACHI, Dec 29: When banks will open their business, only then will they find how much loss banks have to incur after violent protests to mark the anger over killing of Benazir Bhutto last Thursday. Banks were busy collecting information about damages to their branches, but the estimate could reach over 150 branches, as 41 branches of Allied Bank alone were targeted by violence. Most of the banks were targeted in small towns and cities of Sindh while Karachi was also badly affected and at least 40 bank branches were set on fire, looted or partially damaged. Eyewitnesses said in most of the cases banks were looted and then set on fire. Banks have no idea or information that how much losses were made to them, neither they were able to know which branches were targeted and to what extent. Reports from different parts of the country suggest that at least 150 branches were burnt and most of them were in the interior of Sindh. The ATM machines were especially targeted during violence in Karachi and at least a dozen of ATMs were either looted or damaged in different parts of the city. An eyewitness said an ATM machine in Ghas Mandi was taken away as looters failed to break the pocket of the machine where cash is deposited. The MCB Bank has the highest number of ATMs in the city. When contacted, a spokesman for the MCB revealed that damage was serious in Karachi. So far, his information disclosed that at least nine branches of the MCB Bank were either set on fire after being damaged and looted in parts of Karachi. The MBC Bank is yet to receive assessment of damage to branches in the interior of Sindh and other parts of Pakistan. MBC Bank branches in old Sabzi Mandi, Safoora Chowrangi, Korangi Industrial area, Bhittai Colony, Malir City, Lea Market, SITE and Pakistan Quarters were looted and burnt. The cause of damage was known to the bank, but the loss was yet to be calculated. “One ATM machine costs around Rs30 to 40 million and our three ATMs were destroyed,” said Kafil Barni, senior official of MCB Bank. The ATMs at Lea Market, Pakistan Quarters and Safoora Chowrangi were destroyed. Bankers said all bank branches in Korangi industrial area were set on fire while bankers were yet to know how much damage was caused to them. Banks were busy to gather information regarding the damage of their branches across the country and were facing difficulty to visit the affected branches due to disturbances all over the country especially in Sindh. An Allied Bank spokesman Arshad Khan said the bank has so far received report of damage to 41 branches in the country. These branches were looted and set on fire while several were looted and damaged. He said computers and fax machines were stolen from their branches. He said 19 branches were set on fire in Sukkar, nine in Hyderabad, six in Nawabshah, four in Karachi, one each in Sadiqabad, Multan and Bahawalnagar. The ATMs of the ABL were looted and damaged mostly in Punjab. Six ATMs were looted and destroyed in Rawalpindi, two in Karachi, one each in Rahimyaar Khan, Shaikhupura and Sialkot. The estimated loss could be in billions while the restoration and renovation would cost more to make the damaged branches functional. No bank received report of looting or damage to lockers. The MCB Bank said several branches which were looted, have strong rooms which remained intact and safe. ABL also did not receive any report about loss to lockers. They, however, said if lockers were broken, loss would be much higher than the expectations. Some major banks have insurance of the lockers while others do not provide insurance cover.
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Washington,
Dec 28: The killing of former premier Benazir Bhutto on Thursday
(Dec. 27) was major blow to the US goal of stabilising Pakistan,
which is a frontline ally in the war against terror since the 9/11
attacks, former American policymakers and experts have said.
